shadows of blame on the FBI and
CIA, throw the pall of suspicion on
LBJ — and pretty much everyone
from the Mafia to the military-indus-
trial complex.
Nothing new here, you say?
Actually, there is. Like a search
engine on overdrive, Belzer connects
the warp and woof of a legacy of
doubts and weaves a fresh perspec-
tive on the crime of the century. He
also gives an excellent coherence of
detail to the pre-Dallas life and
career of Lee Harvey Oswald, that
most famous of lone gunmen. The
chapters devoted to the still trou-
bling body count of witnesses and
peripheral characters who died in
the wake of Nov. 22, 1963, are espe-
cially compelling.
Belzer's segue into UFO-ology is
somewhat less structured, but here,
too, he manages to grab your atten-
tion. His major theme on this subject
— a theme that most mainstream
scholars and critics never touch — is
the astonishing paradox between the
public's acceptance of at least the pos-
sibility of extraterrestrial life and the
establishment's adamant refusal to give
it any credence without "evidence."
Belzer counters with the argument
that evidence abounds, and it's not all
coming from trailer parks and Star
Trek conventions. If the truth isn't out
there, where is it? Area 51?
Admittedly, the book has weakness-
es. Belzer seldom reflects on the fact
that conspiracy theorists are a jealous
lot when it comes to their pet theories
/–
and are chronically prone to contra-
dict one other. Also, the vagaries of
close encounters (of any kind) usually
have more to do with the fallacies of
our judgments than the willful men-
ace of our governments.
And Elvis? The King actually gets
short shrift in the book. Too bad. I
never trusted Colonel Parker.
By the way, ac one point Belzer
strongly advises the reader not to pur-
chase his book with a credit card.
Why? I'm not telling. You'll have to
buy UFOs, JFK, and Elvis to find out.
Just bring cash. II

The Jewish Authors Book Group
at Borders in Farmington Hills,
located at 30995 Orchard Lake
Road, discusses UFOs, JFK, and

Elvis: Conspiracies You Don't Have
To Be Crazy To Believe, by

Remembering Web addresses
making you meshugenuh?
Forget about it!
JNet Gateway is the answer.

JNet Gateway is just that

a gateway that makes it easy to connect to any Jewish organization
with a Web site. Forget remembering all those Web site addresses
and rely on JNet Gateway to open the door to the Jewish
organizations you're looking for online. Just visit the Detroit Jewish
News Web site and click on the JNet Gateway icon.

www.cletroitjewishnews•corn

Jewish organization leaders: If your site isn't listed,
please fill out the format at www.detroitjewishnews.com or call
Josh Cane at The Jewish News: (248) 3546060 ext. 225.
There is no charge for your communal organization's link.

Richard Belzer, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, June 22.7 he public is
invited. (248) 737-0110.

6/18
1999

Detroit Jewish News

87